CITY OF SAN FERNANDO, Pampanga – Governor Dennis ‘Delta’ Pineda appealed to fellow governors and city mayors to allow the entry of pork and pork products from Pampanga to their local market.
Governor Delta guaranteed the general public the province’s pork products are safe to eat by holding a “pork or lechon festival” yesterday at Bren Z. Guiao Convention Center where public officials, hog raisers, and meat processors were invited to feast on lechon, sisig, and different processed meat products such as longganisa, tocino, and hotdog.
“Ito po ay ginawa natin para ipakita sa mga kababayan natin dito sa Pampanga at sa mga kababayan natin sa ibang probinsiya na ang baboy o produkto na galing sa Pampanga ay safe kainin,” Governor Delta said.
He also asked concerned stakeholders and government agencies such as Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG), Department of Health (DOH), and Department of Agriculture (DA) to extend help in effectively implementing his appeal in order to also aid the hog raisers and meat processors in coping with their incurred losses caused by the fear and threat of ASF.
“Gusto ko pong ipaabot sa inyo lahat po ng processed food halos imported po yung mga produktong binibili nilang baboy. Puro kumpleto po yung permit coming from the country na wala pong ASF,” the governor said.
“Kaya nakikiusap po ako, umaapela sa inyo na sana po yung mga processed food namin e sana po papasukin niyo sa mga ibat ibang probinsiya kasi po malaking kawalan po sa hanapbuhay kung ito po ay pipigilan natin,” he added.
Meanwhile, the Pampanga Swine Producers Association (PSPA) assured to give its full cooperation to the government in solving the issues and concerns regarding ASF, and continually prioritize the interest of the consumers.
“We join the national and local governments in allaying fears among the public and further assuring them that pork and pork products are generally safe and that ASF has no effect on human health,” Toto Gonzales, PSPA representative, said.
“We actively encourage the general public to continue enjoying pork as part of their normal daily food consumption even as our Association assures the public that we have enough stocks and supplies of pork both for general public and for food processing,” he added.
Gonzales also appealed to the press and media “to be more circumspect, objective, and balanced in reporting news” in order to avoid fear among consumers which could consequently affect food security and production.
The president of Pampanga Association of Meat Processor (PAMPRO), Prudencio S. Garcia, was also present during the festival. He also expressed support through informing the public that pork here is safe for consumption.
The said festival is dubbed as “Karneng Baboy sa Pampanga ay Ligtas, Kumain at Mag-enjoy!” and it was participated in by meat processors such as Mekeni, Roel’s Food Co., Purefoods, among others.